Welcome to Big Old Goofy World . . . a place where I can share my thoughts, hopes, and dreams about this rock that we live on and call home.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Celebrating the Easter Peep

Being a pastor I probably should have
some sacred symbols for Easter Sunday and the season of Easter.Symbols like . . . an empty cross . . .
lilies . . . Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus
. . . white stoles and paraments . . . a butterfly . . . or maybe even the
flowers of the Dogwood tree—all good and sound symbols of that most important
day of faith, but the one I cherish the most.No, despite my religious leanings, none of those symbols mean Easter to
me as much as my Peeps.

Everyone should know about Peeps . . .
small marshmallow candy covered in colored sugar and shaped like little
chickadees . . . typically making their appearance around Easter as they
migrate to countless baskets marking the arrival of Jesus’ main competition—the
Easter bunny.Surely everyone has had
the opportunity to experience the culinary (stretching the truth here) delight
of Peeps.It is the cornerstone of my
Easter celebration . . . and, this year more than ever, it is a milestone as
Peeps celebrate their 60th anniversary.

It was in 1953 that a Russian
immigrant named Sam Born began creating Peeps at his candy factory in Bethlehem
(how’s that for biblical symbolism), Pennsylvania called Just Born.Actually, Born did not create Peeps—he bought
out the Rodda Candy Company and its marshmallow chick line, and replaced the
painstaking process of hand-forming the chick with mass production.Since then there have been billions of Peeps
born and eaten throughout the world.In
fact, 5.5 million Peeps are born each day!

Since I was a child, Peeps have always
been a part of my observance of Easter.They have graced my Easter basket since I was old enough to gnaw on my
first Peep . . . and, it hasn’t stopped since.Each year I have ripped into my Easter basket looking for those Peeps .
. . not the bunny shaped ones, but the chick-shaped ones . . . not the bring
green or orange or pink or whatever color of the rainbow they are using to make
the Peeps, but the yellow ones . . . after all, I am a traditionalist.Only yellow Peeps for me . . . it was on the
tablets Moses left up on Mount Sinai . . . “thou
shall only consume the yellow Peeps and keep all yellow Peeps sacred!”Easter begins with the yellow Peep!

It just isn’t Easter without the Peeps
. . . ask my daughter . . . my adult daughter.She will tell you.She will tell
you because she is a chip off the ol’ Peep . . . I have raised her well.Like her father, she believes in the power
and sacredness of the Peep . . . and, like her father, they had better be
yellow Peeps.It does not matter what her
Easter basket was filled with . . . the finest chocolates . . . a ten pound
solid Easter bunny with ears . . . malted milk balls . . . Jelly Belly jelly
beans . . . she ripped through the basket until she found the lost—the yellow
Peeps!Rumor has it that she has already
begun inducting the granddaughter—even at seven months old—into the faith of
the yellow Peep of Easter.It doesn’t
hurt that there is probably a pound of sugar in a Peep, and what baby doesn’t like
a little sugar!

Actually, Peeps are made from
marshmallow (sugar), corn syrup, gelatin, and carnauba wax.I imagine that most of that stuff is not good
for human consumption, but . . . oh, well!They sure taste good . . . not the fresh squishy ones right out of the
package, but the ones that have been ripped from the package and left out to
grow stale and hard like beef jerky . . . those are the ones that I like.Peeps are indestructible.

Really, they are.Apparently scientists and countless children
have tried to destroy Peeps for generations . . . and, guess what . . . the
Peeps are still here.They have
attempted to dissolve them in every known liquid . . . to no avail.They have tried to burn them . . .
smoldering, but still here.Nothing gets
rid of a Peep . . . indestructible . . . they can never die.How much more of an Easter message do you
want?

There is only one Peep for a Peep
traditionalist . . . that is the Easter Peep, original yellow color.All the rest are cultist off-shoots . . .
fly-by-night wannabes . . . heretical off-casts that pollute the true meaning
of Peeps at Easter.The sacred Easter
Peep should be revered and given its rightful place in the observance of
Easter.Didn’t Jesus come out of the
tomb, look at Mary, and ask, “Where are my peeps?”

Blessed are those who have the Peeps .
. . for they shall never be hungry . . . they shall never be bored . . . they
shall never . . . well, you get the picture.Peeps are a symbol of Easter . . . they never die . . . they are always
with us . . . and, they make us feel good.May you be blessed with Peeps—yellow chickadee Peeps—this holy season of
Easter.Let us celebrate the Peep: